Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Teaching, Learning and Education
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Team-based Gamification for Enhancing Student Collaboration and Learning in Online Courses
Gina Lynn Solano
ABSTRACT:
There are many forms of gamification in learning, but few about how to design an entire online course around a game. Oftentimes students hesitate to take an online course due to its isolating environment and lack of connection with the instructor or peers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate an online graduate course that was gamified in its entirety around a specific theme. Students were placed into four different teams with a team leader and then were provided with a variety of optional challenges and opportunities throughout the semester. Each week, students collaborated using a communication app, which helped to create friendships and build a positive classroom community. All the game challenges and opportunities were aligned with course outcomes and not designed to detract from learning, but to reinforce concepts and skills. The results of this study were highly positive for increasing engagement and building an effective online learning community which resulted in a constructive learning experience for the instructor and students.
keywords: engagement; motivation; communication; project-based learning; graduate-level teaching